shellphones | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Type: Video
Sender ID: paradisaea (Kaveh)
To: so, so public
Subject: important question!!!
Warnings: Alcoholism and the chaos gays probably in the comments somewhere.

[Kaveh is laying at on a couch in his home, sprawled bonelessly across it, and he's clearly flushed. Given he's staring despondently up at the ceiling and not directly at the camera, this is not because he's having a good time.]

Hey...how are you s'posed to convince people y'care about them? [Kaveh laughs a bit, bitterly.] I'm clearly doing it wrong.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Breadth of experience and willingness to take the unorthodox point of view. He must be an outstanding scholar.

Are your fields of study different?

Yes. It's very rare, to meet a man with a mind like his. In terms of his breadth of knowledge, I don't think anyone in Sumeru save the Dendro Archon herself can compare. [Kaveh chuckles to himself.] But knowledge is not all there is to "wisdom."

He studied in Haravatat--the field of semiotics and the study of language. My darshan was Kshahrewar--our concern is machinery and engineering, including architectural engineering. There's some overlap; most ancient machinery uses runes, and the Haravatat are most responsible for decoding them, but in general they're fairly disparate darshan.

But Alhaitham took electives from every single darshan, when he could fit them into his schedule. Not that he bothered to turn up to his classes in person that often.

[ Engineering? Good to know. Ulpianus makes a mental note to reach out to the man when he's not drowning his sorrows to discuss technology to explore the depths of the sea... but perhaps anonymously. ]

Language is not merely the written runes and the spoken word. All things communicate. Even the cells of our bodies speak a 'language' of their own.

He'd probably agree with you. All history, all culture, all communication, even from the smallest bird and tiniest blade of grass...without language, there is no means to record any of it. But that which humans do not record themselves in pen and ink does not necessarily go unrecorded.

Architecture, too, is a form of language. A message that long outlasts the body of those who sent it.

[ He thinks back to Aegir. "A message that long outlasts the body of those who sent it"... It's very fitting. ]

... Indeed. The choice of materials, the choice of balance between form and function. The function itself. The synergy between every building of a city.

[ He sounds... wistful, almost. ]

I've always thought it was...romantic isn't quite the right word, but there's something powerful, in seeing ancient buildings. That I stand in the hopes and dreams of someone from hundreds of years ago. And one day, someone may stand at the buildings I've designed, wondering the same questions, long after all my pain and sorrows have returned to dust.

When we design buildings, their function and their safety is key to it's success. But we must also consider that they will outlast us all, and they are our surest means to speak our wishes to the future. I may never live to see my ideals become reality, but my buildings will.

[ How did they get here from Kaveh drunk crying about relationships.

Ulpianus is silent for a while, choosing what he wants to say. The ideals Kaveh talks about are beautiful, but a part of him wants to point out that his buildings may well only be witness to civilization's demise. Even if humanity should do everything to avoid that.

But given the man's earlier melancholy, it would be counterproductive to talk about that. ]

... My people inherited the wishes of the Predecessors in such a way. We found their ancient settlements, and stood among their halls. We learned their language and their thoughts. If not for them, Aegir would not know the splendor it came to enjoy.

Your hopes are not unfounded.

[Welcome to Kaveh's brain.

It's not as though Kaveh is unaware of the potential. After all, the ruins he goes to for inspiration are just that--ruins. The people they once sheltered are long gone, but the edifice remains...

And so does humanity, despite the rise and fall of so many civilizations. There is beauty in that, too.]

I know. [His voice is quiet, almost wistful.] Or at least, I must hold to my convictions that they are so. As we are inheritors of the past, so too must we leave our measures for the future, without ever knowing what shape it will take. But is not architecture the study of turning dreams into reality? I have done it before. I can do it again.

[ It's a little surprising to meet someone who can understand this sentiment - or at least meet them this soon. Ulpianus has seen others in his time on land, but he's also seen many more people who never gave thought to the continuity of mankind - sometimes through no fault of their own, barely managing to survive day to day, but sometimes out of wilful ignorance and laziness. ]

Then you should.

[ Translation from autism whalespeak: "I think that's a beautiful conviction and I wish you luck". ]

Your land is lucky to have you, young one.

It'd be arrogant of me to agree. [Kaveh says, but there's no bitterness to it. He does not do this for the accolades, not for the fame nor fortune nor any reason other than to create is a joyous and holy act, a compulsion he cannot ignore.]

It is the land that has been fertile soil for me to grow--if I can leave on it a lighthouse to shine a path for those yet to come, then I am the one who is grateful.

I do not give empty praise. Your conviction should be shared by all, but it is no less admirable for that.

[ It really makes him think of Aegir - a nation where each and every person is meant to flourish, to give life to their ideals, big or small, and thus make their homeland even more beautiful.

But it also makes bitterness twist in his chest. How many Aegirians who loved their home just as much can no longer do anything for it? How many will never be able to do anything for it? The lights of how many cities, designed by architects just as passionate, have gone out? Are there buildings left at all, or have they all become nothing more than Seaborn's spawning grounds?

He exhales a bit more sharply than normal and cuts off his thoughts right there. There is no use in thinking about it, and his own conviction doesn't need any reinforcement. ]

... Your husband should be returning soon. Talk to him. Perhaps about the past, perhaps about your hope for the future. Never let go of it.

[ He'll hang up now, that's One Too Many Emotions (one (1)) for the day! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only